The guarantee that the constitutional status of Northern Ireland is for the people of NI to decide is no longer sacrosanct

Implicitly, if not explicitly, they would all remain ‘as partners in the European Union’.

By the terms and spirit of the GFA any proposal to change the relationships between those parties should have been dealt with by the joint institutions set up in the agreement.

Arguably then, the GFA, an international treaty between the UK and RoI governments, was broken by the UK government’s unilateral contemplation of UK exit from the EU, the UK government’s unilateral (non-binding!) referendum on the proposition, and the UK government’s unilateral implementation of the overall pro-Brexit result, overwhelmingly weighted by the size of England’s pro-Brexit majority population relative to the anti-Brexit majority populations of Scotland and NI; the UK government being supported and facilitated all the way by NI’s Democratic (?) Unionist Party (DUP), for obvious ideological existential reasons, contrary to the democratic wish of the people of NI to remain in the EU.

Arguably, Brexit would not have happened but for numerical support by the DUP, amplified by Sinn Fein’s permanent abstention from the Westminster forum. Also, for much of the time, the Stormont forum was in suspension over the ‘Cash for Ash’ scandal.

Consequently, does the GFA still exist other than in spirit by those who respect the agreement? If not, the UK government has free reign to do as it pleases with Northern Ireland. The guarantee that the constitutional status of NI vis-a-vis UK-GB is for the people of NI to decide is no longer sacrosanct.

An Irish Sea border between GB and the EU has already been conceded by the UK government leaving NI effectively in the EU in accordance, ironically, with the wish of the NI population on that issue.

What are the prospects for NI if an impending second Scottish independence referendum results in the dissolution of the UK?

Has the DUP (who never supported the GFA) scored an own goal? How much further can, or will, the DUP push its luck?

Dennis Golden, Strabane

——— ———

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers — and consequently the revenue we receive — we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.

Subscribe to newsletter.co.uk and enjoy unlimited access to the best Northern Ireland and UK news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit https://www.newsletter.co.uk/subscriptions now to sign up.

Our journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them. By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.

Alistair Bushe

Editor